TEAM HERALD
VASCO: India and France commenced the 14th edition of their joint naval exercise ‘Varuna’ off the coast of Goa on April 23. The event, which will last for ten days, is conducted to strengthen Indo-French cooperation, coordination, and other bilateral ties.
“Such exercises are necessary to develop our (Indo-French) capacity to react against maritime terrorism, and to be able to deploy our capacities in a multinational operation, including piracy operations,” said Rear Admiral Eric Chaperon, the commanding officer of the French maritime reaction force. He addressed reporters from onboard INS Virat on Saturday.
The Indian and French navies have been conducting naval exercises since 1983. Following the establishment of a strategic partnership, these exercises were christened ‘Varuna’ in 2001. Thirteen such exercises were conducted till now, and their complexity increases with each year.
“Regular (Indo-French) interaction over the years has allowed both navies to gradually and systematically increase the complexity and professional content of the joint exercises,” said Admiral R Hari Kumar.
“Varuna aims at deriving mutual benefit from the experiences of the two navies. The confidence gained through such exercises helps develop standard operating procedures, particularly in the fields of Joint Maritime Air Operations planning with exchange of Carrier Operational Capabilities,” he said.
The added attraction this year is the participation the French Navy’s (Marine Nationale) flagship aircraft carrier ‘Charles de Gaulle (R91)’, a nuclear-powered warship that was a part of the Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which involved bombing various locations held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. It carries Rafale M fighter aircrafts, Super Etendard strike aircrafts, E2C Hawkeye AWACS, and helicopters Dauphin and Alouette 3. Destroyers, Chevalier Paul and Jean de Vienne; replenishment tanker, Meuse; and maritime patrol aircraft, Atlantique 2 are also part of the exercise.
India’s fleet include aircraft carrier INS Viraat, a Delihi class destroyer, a Teg/Talwar class frigate, a Brahmaputra class frigate, replenishment tanker ‘Deepak’, a Shishukumar class submarine, and a few fast-attack craft. Its aviation assets include carrier-borne fighter aircraft, Sea Harriers; maritime reconnaissance aircraft, P-8 I and Dorniers; along with integral helicopters Seaking 42B and Chetak.
The gamut of exercises to be performed include: aircraft carrier operations, anti-submarine warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, multi-ship replenishment exercises, surface exercises, cross-deck flying, damage control and fire fighting, air defence, firing drills, air to sea firing and search and seize operations.
